Grafting of 2-hydroxy-4(2,3-epoxypropoxy)-benzophenone and epoxidized soybean oil to wood: Reaction conditions and effects on the color stability of Scots pine

This study investigates the photostabilizing effect of the reactive UV-absorber 2-hydroxy-4(2,3-epoxypropoxy)-benzophenone (HEPBP) when used as a primer for wood. The present work further includes a study on the effect of HEPBP used in combination with an epoxy functionalized vegetable oil as a primer system. The study is based on reactions performed on pine veneers using 3-pentanone as a solvent and 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst, varying the reaction time and temperature. Results from FTIR and SEC measurements indicate that a desired reaction between HEPBP and wood does occur and that there are synergetic effects when HEPBP and oil are combined. Color measurements also indicate that the use of HEPBP and epoxidized soybean oil as pretreatment for wood results in a lower color change after 400 h of artificial weathering. We conclude that using HEPBP in combination with epoxy functionalized soybean oil does improve photostability of wood exposed to artificial weathering.